By Joseph Deinlein
The Daily Item
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SELINSGROVE — It was the last inning, with two out and the bases loaded.
His team trailed by one run when state police trooper Brent Bobb stepped to the plate.
He smacked the pitch toward left field, where Steve Diehl, adult probation officer with the Union-Snyder Drug and DUI Treatment Court, was waiting.
Everyone at East Snyder Park’s Diamond One held his breath.
The ball slipped out of Diehl’s glove, and two state troopers strode across home plate.
Final score in Saturday’s second annual Guns and Hoses softball tournament: State troopers 11, Treatment Court 10.
“I went from zero to hero on that one,” said Bobb, who organized the team of state troopers from the Selinsgrove and Milton barracks. “Could it get any better than that? It was a good competition, right down to the wire.”
Proceeds from the charity event benefit Susquehanna Valley Law Enforcement Camp Cadet, a weeklong summer program run by the Pennsylvania State Police for children 12 to 15 in Montour, Northumberland, Snyder and Union counties.
Camp Cadet, held at Susquehanna University, provides the teenagers structure and fun, as well as a glimpse into the world of law enforcement and emergency services, said Trooper Matt Burrows, the group’s president.
The softball event pitted many Snyder County fire companies and the treatment court playing in a double-elimination tournament, with the winner facing the troopers.
“When fire companies get together, it’s usually under a stressful situation,” said Brenda Hassinger, who helped organize the event. “This gives them a chance to have a good day with each other. They love it.”
The treatment court team, which included both program officers as well as participants, joined the event this year.
In fact, a few players were wearing electronic surveillance ankle bracelets.
Since March, members of the program have put in about 500 community service hours at the park, said Scott Kerstetter, the treatment court coordinator and unofficial coach.
“Some of these folks also have done their community service speaking to the fire companies and speaking with Camp Cadet,” said Kerstetter, who also is the Selinsgrove Area High School girls basketball coach.
The treatment court team spent the day playing and beating each of the fire company teams.
“They’re a good team,” said Dawayne Betzer, chief and coach of the team from Dauntless Hook & Ladder Fire Company in Selinsgrove.
His team played the court team twice, losing both games and setting the final match-up with the troopers.
Throughout the tournament, there were laughs and gentle ribbing. After all, aside from charity, the teams were playing for a bigger prize.
“Hopefully we’ll win and get bragging rights,” said Josh Miller, 28, a firefighter and EMT with Shamokin Dam Fire Company.
Miller, whose team was eliminated in the consolation bracket, admitted he hadn’t played any form of the game since he was in high school.
“Golf took over,” he said. “I tell you, how old we are is how sore we are.”
There were some injuries. Pete DeWire, a member of the East Snyder Regional Recreation Association, who worked with members of the treatment court sprucing up the park, was taken away by ambulance after hurting his Achilles tendon.
“Told ya I’d be back,” DeWire said, who hobbled onto the field with crutches and a wrapped foot in time for the final inning.
In the showdown between the troopers and court, one might think there could be some intimidation, given the players have found themselves on opposite sides of the law at times.
That wasn’t the case, said Selinsgrove resident Shawn Ritter, the court team’s captain and a member of the program.
“This gives us a chance to let the community know that people can change and be good members of society,” he said.
And the game was exciting, with each team coming back to tie things up several times, he said.
“I was hoping it would end like this,” Ritter said. “Well, I was hoping it would end in a win.”
-- E-mail comments to jdeinlein@dailyitem.com
